Video gaming machines are commonly used in traditional gambling establishments such as casinos and gambling centers and in other markets such as bars, restaurants, racinos, bingo halls, riverboats, and cruise ships. While the regulations covering these different establishments are different, they also vary from one jurisdiction to another and the habits of players may also vary. Hence, a game that can attract and maintain the interest of a player provides higher value to the proprietor. Consequently, there is a need to continually improve game features, while maintaining a fairly high level of familiarity so that established players can also enjoy the new game features.
Because the number of games allowed within an establishment is typically regulated and because the gaming machines have a relatively short payback cycle, the gaming machine business is highly competitive. Hence there is further pressure on the industry to make improvements in game features that enhance their play value.
Video gaming machines provide games that fall into general categories that emulate traditional games of chance such as keno, bingo, scratch tickets, fixed-odds betting, other types of wager games, slot-machine emulation and card game emulation. These typically reward a player having a predetermined outcome with a bonus round of play or other incentives. One type of video gaming machines is a video slot machine, emulating traditional slot machine games. Traditional slot machines include a plurality of reels that rotate around a horizontal axis. An input accepts a player's input to indicate a desire to spin the reels. Symbols may be displayed on the outside of the reels so that the symbols are visible to a player when the reels come to rest. If the symbols on the reels are arranged in a pre-determined arrangement, a prize may be awarded to the player. The prize may depend on the symbol arrangement and an initial bet made by the player.
A video slot machine may include a viewable display area where a plurality of reels is simulated. The symbols may be arranged in columns and provided with an animation sequence to simulate spinning reels when a player's input is received to spin the reels.